Route 3 in Billerica was closed until Thursday morning after a tanker truck crashed and leaked fuel

BILLERICA – Route 3 in Billerica will be closed until Thursday morning after a tanker truck collided, overturned and spilled fuel across the road on Wednesday. Massachusetts State Police said that portion of the highway will be closed “for the foreseeable future.”

Late Wednesday night, Billerica police said the highway would remain closed until Thursday morning.

A Tesla and a pickup truck were also involved in the crash, which occurred in the northbound lanes shortly before 10 a.m. Police said the tanker was carrying “several thousand gallons of fuel.” He said A lot of it leaked.

“It sounded like an impact, not a bomb, but something large hitting something,” said Charlie Ardell of Billerica.

Traffic was closed on both sides of the highway between Triple Cove Road and Route 129 for cleanup and investigation. Ramps from Route 495 to Route 3 southbound are also closed. Late Wednesday night, the tanker truck was towed while crews continued working to clean up the fuel. Part of the road is also being repaved after it was damaged in the accident.

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation said drivers should find other routes because there is no estimate for when the highway will reopen. Traffic was halted for miles on Wednesday evening as vehicles were diverted around the area.

There’s no official word yet on the cause of the accident, but a viewer sent dashcam video to WBZ-TV. It showed the Tesla car and the minivan colliding in the left lane. The truck then collided with the tanker, causing it to overturn.

State Police said: “The driver of the tanker and the driver of one of the other vehicles sustained minor injuries.”

Northbound traffic is detoured at Exit 78 and southbound traffic is detoured at Exit 79. Foam is sprayed on the road to suppress flammable vapors. Experts said that the work to extract the remaining oil is arduous.

“They’ll unload it into another tanker truck so they can put the damaged tanker truck back on its wheels to get it out of there,” said Scott Turner of Accident & Incident Experts, LLC.